Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-05-06
NTRlmRERRl-p ARAnLNE
where the Fruit j. sbo,eIIed out 10 the
ueouIe.

the New Ork sun. The plains OF Arkan
sas and lower Missouri are very dreary to
gaze at and the valleys and bottoms sug
gest suicide to a melancholy man. and de
spair to "A jolly one But when the Mississ
ippi gets through its annual frolic in the
spring. and the sun has shone hot for few
DAYS. these lands fairly turn red with the
abundance of strawberries. Strawberries
run riot throughout that section. and they
are as sweet high favored berries as grow.
They are as plenty os blueherries on the
Catskills, and people may have as many as
they can eat for the picking You will see
at the railway stations all through that
country men and women who seem to be
perspiring strawberry juice. Their fingers
are bright pink. and their clothes are stain
ed with the rich blood OF the berry. Straw
berries are So plenty that 1t takes nimble
fingers and quick work tn pay for picking
| thenl-that is. for market. st. Louis is the
greatest strawberry market in the world.
and il daily receives during the season tons
and tons of the berries from Arkansas and
| lower Missouri. Special cars are side
| tracked at all important stations, and IN the
/ evening the farmers come from miles
around with great baskets of tempting Der.
/ ries. tn be- consigned To- the st Luui, deal
| ers The farmers and pickers send the Der
/ ries away on faith They may do fairly
| well. and they may not get enough TO pay
/ the freight Quarts don't count. except
/ for very choice berries. The farmer and
/ picker talk gallons.
The great market in st. Louis fairly
/ bleeds with the enormous quantities of Der
ries They are stacked up in bins, like
coal. and scoopcd up with wooden shovels
The juice oozes out, and the stall, and floor,
would suggest the slaughter house were il
not for the monstruus masses of tempting
sweetness and the pungent udor Of the Der
nv. How the markCtmcn do hustle their
| consignments Great signs are hung up
that berries are selling for 10 cents gallon
You step up aud pick up a berry or two.
They are hard. pulpy, and puugently sweet
Ten cents a gallon The poor people with
shawl> over their heads and baskets ON
/ their arms throng the market with smiling
faces. none so poor that gallon of straw
| berries a day Is too dear to buy Large
berries sell for - cents Il gallon, and IA her-
ry that costs five cents IA quart must be
very large and very tempting If YOU
step into a coal yard and imagine that the
fine chestnut Goals in the bins are nice red
strawberries. YOU will get "a mental picture
of the strawberry market in ST Louis dur
ing the season There is no pinching III
measure there Berries are too plenty.
You want gallon of those plump berries.
In goes the marketman wooden shovel in
to the heap. Berries are too plenty to make
it needful that he be careful about tanning
"a few with his shovel lie fills the gallon
measure He calls it gallon. but 1t is
really n half peck measure A half-peck of
Strawberries for 10 cents He heaps the
measure up like II pyramid, to make good
the few bruised ones at the bottom You
wonder II there are people enough in St
Louis to eat all those berries in one day
There are millions of quarts and less than
half "A million people i'll the city. The hotels
aud boarding houses serve them as an ap-
peti2er at breakfast IA dessert at dinner and
a side dish at supper Huge shortca5es.
iammed full of berries and scarlet with
juice. appear in all the restaurant windows,
and the uevsboys. with brown paper coruu-
copas filled with pcnuy's worth of Der
ries. line the curhstunes los the market. and
eat till the hcrric, seem uDziug out at the
corners of their mouths You notice that
the tips of people, fingers are red. and YOU
see the clerk, dipping their fingers into has
2 kets under the counters and taking httl,
luncheons of strawberries
ct all this luxury of berry eating doe,
I not consume half the berries the market
men have. When night comes the dealer
hastily and carefully pack all the unsol,
berries left over. and then they ship then
70 10y last freight nhes To Chicago Cincinnati
+ lhulaiaPolis ana some oil the smaller cite
y lurther horlh. men a marvellous chang
h III the reiatlol ni cost To product take
II place That which was even dear at =
r cents IA peck, or 50 cents bushel at st
e Louis. becomes cheap at 10 cents IA quart il
e Chicago. Strawberries do not take "a kind
e. lv to night rallruadmg Us peaches do. an
/ second night shipments tell on the product
therefore the berries are hlgh along TN
iAhe shoIe' uItiI 'iie sun rlPehs tnose una
grow III lhat vicinity. but the lake shor
Il regions neeu coaNlhE 10 produce strawpel
Il RES While IurIhef south hothlng but drougl
/. or 700 huch ram can repress them
N Inc strawberry crop SENDS good man
I Thousand uoHars INTO regions where dollar
are scarce ana aEue Is plenty, ana I'll
u farmers ana plckers sign when they thn
oil the New lork market. II they coul
only Eel Uhtlr berries 10 Ne" YORK III GOO
condition they say they would get dolla
where they receive dimes now. Their he
Sc ry would certainty force the acIld Nortoli
is or the dry Mary lahds OUT OF the market,
tn brought INTO competition, Tor 1t Is fri
VS. sweet ana hlgh haN"fed' ana OF larry goo
er SIZE.
Ill Inc sun lual silllles Oh lhe ARKANSAS b0
I : toms ana hilisiues III APlll ana May al
Sc makes Jhe sou ulush WIN rlpehlhg response
he sends klhuI\' lHouSh htrce neat upon .
DIS pine laluN u Thousand mics farther up t
tn valley III August. Iheh his rays rlpen
le run Iha' -I"'ria llht Iht strawberry, WI
". very IlcH lDl push hlach. Miles ana mi
lie OF the fields OF Wisconsin are dotted wi
I'm the luscious WIG hlackherry, the strawbt
he ny dushH cousin Oh Uhe horlh. Blackbt
.lv rles grow III me south nut they are Il
zee such berries Us these. And no" Cmca
RS. llNals ~. LOUIS a. a Derry market. beic
ar. the dawn you VIII near the people drlvl
ng along tne hl5hNa\s TO the stations, Il
.. Wheh IL Is HEh' enough II you look ire
,ar Your WINDOW You VIII see baskets pil
-. nigh one Oh ahother' loaded IN all kinds
AZ farm wagons the teams OF winch are DIR
Ia en- 10y women ana children Frocessic
in pass. sometimes as long as the eye can st
the The highway Is dotted win berries that Ina
for rolled on from the loaded baskets, hk'
amt long iran. Inc men are busy with the HI
~ vest an" Ihe women ana children are ms
III my lnelr own nay WINE the sun SHINES W
me- juicy hlarkhtfrles. Al The stations there
the a be"lluerlus CONFUSION ot berry baske
er- Ihey are heaped one above another, Il
pchl' baskets ana you wonder II there
trains long enough To take them all to G
cago. The berries are sheltered with q
~ oak leaves when you hit up the leaves a
peek mt" the baskets, the berries look
'cr- tempting ana shlny, with purple polish
eX- the BLACK, that yon do not wonder that
the Gag" takes theh eagerly ana pays wlllln
er- ~ ana u cents quart Tor them. Milli'
mt. ol quarts are sent to Chicago, Mllwaul
ne ana ~. raul "hllc the short season las
by and the women and children who pick
att berries frequently earn snug little su
. ST IN